2D 2014: What do you want to read?

Starting Monday, we will dedicate ourselves to a conversation-based tasks designed to help you improve your communication skills. Today, however, you will choose the text you wish to read for our novel study. We will officially begin our novel study after we complete the conversation tasks; on Monday, we will briefly discuss the approach we will use for our novel study.

Your first choice is To Kill a Mockingbird, a truly remarkable novel that is widely considered one of the best novels ever written. It features numerous memorable characters (including Atticus Finch, one of my favourite literary characters of all time). Set in the Southern United States in the 1930s, To Kill a Mockingbird explores themes like the loss of innocence, the impact of racism of self and society, and the importance of walking in someone else’s shoes. It is, in a word, brilliant.

Your second choice is A Long Way Gone. This non-fiction work explains how its author, Ishmael Beah, tried desperately to avoid the violence of his homeland, only to be recruited as a boy soldier at thirteen. He was liberated three years later, but Ishmael still had to deal with the memories of violent acts he had witnessed and perpetrated. A word of warning: A Long Way Gone contains some disturbing references to violence and inhumane practices.

Mr. Lamon will show you the following clips to help you better understand both texts. Once the clips are over, you are invited to explore both texts, and read one of them for the remainder of the class. Please note that we have fewer copies of a Long Way Gone, so make sure everyone gets a chance to examine it. If we need extra copies of Beah’s work, I will buy some when I have time.